Burton Custom Flying V 2018 - 2010
Review by The Good Ride

The Burton Custom Flying V is the mellow playful easier floating version Burton Custom that pops and butters really well. However, If you ride in hard snow it looses a lot of its charm. If it had the same personality in hard snow as it did in soft snow this would be a really fun all mountain ride for all conditions. The 2018 Burton Custom Flying V got a few tweaks to the design but it’s still got that very distinct Custom personality it had in 2017.

2018 Burton Custom Flying V vs. the 2017 Burton Custom Flying V

The 2018 Burton Custom has a blunted nose which we think makes it look better and it also probably adds a smidge of extra float in powder.

The effective edge is a little shorter to compensate for the bigger blunted nose/tail. It’s not much but maybe if you rode the older model a lot you might notice but we didn’t notice the same change on the Custom Camber. It’s also even more subtle with the Custom Flying V than it is with the Custom because the tip/tail are lifted off the snow. Even when pressed down it’s not the same contact as camber from tip to tail.

The Side Cut radius and depth changed a bit but it still feels pretty close to the older model.

The setback on side cut went from -10 to -12.5″ which is more a true 1/2 inch so that’s ok. We didn’t get to put the Custom Flying V on the table and measure the set back on board but I imagine it’s going to be a good bit more because the nose is longer than the tail.

They upped the maximum weight recommendation to reflect the more portly Americans these days. Not sure if there was a core change or just a relaxed weight recommendation.

It’s got a more environmentally friendly Epoxy. Well, at least that’s how we understand it.

We don’t ride the Custom and Custom Flying V a lot each year like we used to in the past so when we rode the Custom Camber it still had a very similar feel to the older Custom Camber models. So yes there are some changes for the better here but Burton made sure that the overall personality was still very much the Burton Custom Flying V that most got to know over the last few years. It’s just a refined custom that makes it’s strong points a little stronger.

2017 to 2014 Burton Custom Flying V Review

Other than a few minor tweaks the 2017 Burton Custom Flying V is pretty much the same ride as it was in 2015 and 2014.

The Burton Custom Flying V 2014 to 2017 is pretty much the same general ride except Burton is constantly finding little ways to improve the board over the years. Here are some highlights of what’s recently changed.

1. One relatively recent difference that improves the ride is the Squeeze Box tech that changes the cores flex between the feet. It’s not a total game changer but it definitely does help improve pop and overall flex of the board.

2. The 2014-2017 Burton Custom Flying V added Carbon to the tip/tail to give it a little more snap and help to dampen up the ride a bit. It helps make the 2014-2017 a little snappier than the 2013 but it’s no game changer.

3. It seems like over the last couple years there is a little more camber these days and that the V isn’t super crazy so the tip/tail are closer to the snow which makes for a more stable ride. We like this change and it gives the board a lot less of a continuous rocker feel on the snow. Remember though that wood is hard to control and just like every company out there it’s difficult to have a consistent short rocker bend in the middle. Some boards can have the tip/tail pretty close to the snow and others can be higher off the ground. The same goes for all camber bends but it effects the ride consistency more with hybrid rocker boards.

On Snow Feel: It’s a bit loose between the feet in the soft snow going to pretty loose in harder snow. The camber in the tip/tail help stabilizes the board as long as you keep it a bit on edge when one footing and it doesn’t flat base as well as many other hybrid profiles other than rocker. At this time (2017) the Custom still comes in Camber and Hybrid Rocker. It would be great to see just one Burton Custom with Pure Pop Camber (AKA Hybrid Camber) instead of traditional camber and Hybrid rocker. Right now you need both the Flying V and Camber Custom to have more of a complete ride where if they had pure pop camber Burton Custom it would be a much better one board quiver like the Burton Trick Pony is now.

Powder: Nothing has really changed in terms of its powder performance. The Flying V-Rocker has a good float and there is a little set back on effective edge as well as a little more on board. It’s easy riding with a centered stance in shallow powder but you have the option to set it back and get some surfy directional float going on. It’s not like many of the Family Tree boards but it does give pretty good all mountain float.

Turn Initiation:. It’s the kind of board that has a nice lively feel underfoot but still works with even mellow boots and bindings. Short to wide radius turns are pretty fun. It’s a little too easy for my taste but some might really like how you can flick this thing around with just the slightest adjustment.

Skidded Turns: Very easy to skid turns and it’s a great board for that.

Carving: So with the lower profile and what seems like more camber these days there is a better feel when leaning into a hard carve. Its borderline soft snow only kind of edge hold makes it a little washy in firm snow but in good snow, it’s not bad. It’s a massive departure though compared to the Camber Custom and not really a board that will allow you to really maximize carving.

Speed: The Squeeze Box from the last couple of years along with the carbon in the 2014 Custom Flying V helps stiffen it up but it’s still fighting the flop that can happen from this camber profile design. It’s getting better but it’s still not there with many other hybrid rocker boards out there that have less bends throughout the board. You feel the tip/tail get more and more floppy when in harder conditions.

Uneven Terrain: The flex of the squeeze tech makes the board ride even easier in uneven terrain on the mountain.

Edge Hold: The Squeeze Box and carbon tech combined with the existing frost bite edges gives the 2014-2017 Custom V-Rocker more edge hold than it did in the past and it’s an improvement but we all would like a lot more. None of us would like to be on this in harder conditions. None of us want magnetraction but we would love to see a massive augmentation of the Frost Bite edges It’s only like 1/2 a mm by 1/2 a mm which is almost nonexistent.

Flex: The change to the core profile isn’t a game changer but it definitely improves the ride and continues to help the board flex naturally underfoot. Burton’s hybrid rocker boards make it very easy and playful when it comes to buttering and such. It’s one of the boards best qualities and there is a nice playful forgiving easy feel when coming into a butter and the camber in the tip/tail give a nice snappy return out of it.

Switch: The Burton Custom Flying V is pretty easy switch and even though it’s a twinish shape. The lifted tip/tail makes if feel a little more like a twin too.

Jibbing: You would think it would be worse with it’s medium flex, special core profiling, and all those bends but it’s not bad there.

Pipe: We have had fun in the pipe with hybrid rocker boards but this didn’t do a great job. It’s mainly because of the edge hold and the minimal camber in the tip/tail. Still, it’s fun if the pipe is soft but it’s not a day in day out pipe ride.

Jumps: If you combine this with hinge tech bindings this board will pop really high. Even with Re:Flex bindings this is still really poppy and fun to ollie. You find yourself looking for things to pop off around the mountain when you are on this board. Butterability and ollie power are probably the two strongest things going for this board.

So, in conclusion, this is a blast when the conditions are good but it’s got a manic personality change when the conditions are hard. Very Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Slyde. Like I said above I think it’s time to say good bye to both the Camber and Flying v in order to welcome Pure Pop camber. You would bring back a lot of the turn on’s that the old Custom had back in the day and at the same time still have a much better float in powder.

Burton Custom Flying V 2013-2010Review

The Burton Custom Flying V has one more bend up than most hybrid rocker boards. Here are some pics to show how there is less camber in this hybrid rocker board than others.

Here is how most boards do hybrid rocker.

On Snow Feel: Our initial impression was that the Burton Custom V-Rocker’s medium flex did not translate to the slopes like the camber version did. We we felt it to be very loose and buttery for an all mountain board. We like that there is still a choice between camber custom and rocker custom. We hope it stays that way because each board has strengths over the other. It would be fun to have both for different moods and conditions. The feeling between the feet is loose like most continuous rocker boars.The Flying V-Rocker bend between the feet makes is a little more challenging to one foot and feels loose when flat basing. So it’s totally the opposite of the custom camber. It’s a loose playful ride

Turn Initiation and Carving: The Burton Custom Flying V-Rocker shape makes it incredibly easy to turn. The rocker between the feet is more exaggerated than most hybrid rocker boards so it makes for a very loose feel between the feet. It turns really easy for almost any rider of any level. If you like to exert little effort in your turns, then look to the Custom.

Powder: This is one of the areas that the Custom V-Rocker outperforms the custom camber and many hybrid rocker boards. The V-Rocker’s extra kink-up in the board gives it a lot of float and lets you take more of a park approach on a fluffy day. It also reduces rear leg burn and makes it fun to ride in almost any powder set up. Its quick turn initiation can handle a tight tree run and can bomb a hill without the sketchy feeling that you would have on a hard pack day.

Edge Hold: There isn’t much edge hold going on and it’s not fun at all when the conditions get harder.

Speed: In good conditions this isn’t too bad, but in hard conditions the board’s tip and tail bounce around when going at medium to high speeds. It’s a common problem with some rocker boards, but for some reason, we found the issue to be particularly pronounced with the Custom Flying V-Rocker. The center of the board has the most contact with the snow and is pretty stiff, but the tip and tail bounce so much that the chatter feels like it works its way through the entire board. You can also hear it hitting the hard snow with a unique sound similar to a bike with a card in the spokes. After a while you get used to it, but this is not ideal when riding at high speeds. It tends to wander from edge side to edge in a squirrely type of manner, but this is nothing new to rocker/camber boards. In good conditions, we would call the speed good, but in hard conditions, it’s just average.

Uneven Terrain: Now when you slow this board down to ride over uneven terrain it’s soft floppy feel handles bumps and end of a crowded day groomer runs very well. It’s got good shock absorption in uneven terrain as long as you are taking it on at slow speeds.

Flex: It seems like the flex is similar to the camber custom but that flex doesn’t translate to the hill. It’s on the softer side of medium and on the hill it’s very easy to butter and press.

Jibbing: It’s not bad for a mid flexing board. It doesn’t do this as well as many of the softer Burton boards but it’s one of the better all mountain boards for jibbing we came across. If you weigh 180lbs+ or are a very strong rider it will be easier because it seems like Burton’s sweet spot is set up for lighter riders.

Switch: The Burton Custom Flying V has a twinish shape that’s almost the same as the camber custom, but thanks to the v-rocker profile, the board does a great job riding switch because the nose and tail aren’t really initiating the turns like a camber board would. It’s almost like a twin.

Pipe: The Burton Custom Flying V isn’t the best pipe board around, but can handle it on softer spring days. The lack of edge hold means it won’t be great at climbing an icy pipe wall, but it will forgiving enough to help you learn the pipe or try new things. For us, we’d use something else.

Jumps: The mini camber near the tail in this rocker/camber combination helps keep the board very springy and playful. We never went big but the Custom Flying V did pretty well on the jumps we hit. Even though this board isn’t a twin, it felt a lot like one with a centered stance hitting jumps.

The Final Take on the Burton Custom Flying V

We’d love to see a little more edge hold and a little less chatter in the nose/tail but still this is a really fun board for someone who rides in good to powder conditions. If you have some cash to burn, it would make great companion to the Custom cambered board, giving you the option of which you want to ride given your mood or the conditions.

I have this board since 2013 and I ride mainly in good conditions. I take this board quite often to do backcountry and ride fast in groomed runs. I can confirm what everyone is reporting about this board: hard pack or ice, you will fall down. It has no edge grip whatsoever in these conditions. If you use it in good conditions with some fresh snow or spring snow, you will have a very surfy and playful feeling. I recommend this board to a beginner that wants to get to the next level of riding because this board is a catch free board. If the rider is aware of it's limitations on hard snow, this is one of the best progression boards out there because it will forgive any mistakes that the rider may do and will allow to boost the confidence of the rider to go to other levels of riding. What I dont understand is that everyone complaints about the edge grip in this board and Burton does not develop a similar technology of the Magnetraction from Mervin to contradict this. Magnetraction works really well with hybrid rocker boards so lets hope that one day Burton is able to fix this.

Not a bad board for softer conditions, however when it comes to riding hard pack or icy stuff then the board tends to wash out almost every single turn. It has rather average flex and it isn't very poppy at all. I've ridden this board (2013 limited edition "The Animal")for a season and a half, tried many different options in terms of stance and angles and it still feels rather unstable which is quite surprising for the Custom camber cousin. Should I had known that before I would have propably stayed away of it. I think the true&tested camber profile seems to be a better option for an all-mountain rider with just a one do-it-all board. Buy it, if you mainly ride soft snow or like to butter around the mountain. Otherwise, I think they are better boards in current Burton line.

product0.3

Only Good in Soft Snow

Burton Custom Flying V 2010-2018 Snowboard Review

Feb 23, 2015byTerry

Ability Level: Intermediate •

Riding Style: All Mountain •

Days You Ride A Year: 10

Have ridden this board (2014 edition) about 7 times this year. Has a very playful feel to it. When it's either snowing or the snow is soft you can have a lot of fun on this board. However, as soon as conditions start to get hard (even a little bit) you will feel very unstable and have difficulty keeping an edge. Do not get this board if you ride icy or hard conditions a lot or if you prefer stability over playfulness.

product0.3

Troubled Board

Burton Custom Flying V 2010-2018 Snowboard Review

Dec 25, 2014byRich

Ability Level: Intermediate •

Riding Style: All Mountain •

Days You Ride A Year: 5-10

I have been using this board (2013 edition) for over a year now and find it very loose and frustrating to ride. The toe edge does not catch because it is so loose that the board just washes out (have tried a million and one foot positions). At high speeds, you can feel the board flutter below you like it might slip off that V at any moment. It pops up nicely out of powder, but it is not much fun riding because you cannot drive the toe edge because it lacks stability.

product0.3

2014 Custom Flying V 156

Burton Custom Flying V 2010-2018 Snowboard Review

Apr 28, 2014byPat

Ability Level: Intermediate-Advanced •

Riding Style: All mountain •

Days You Ride A Year: 35

This is a very fun board for most of the mountain, especially in powder, in the bumps, and just messing around at modest speeds. What is surprising is how much you feel the rocker portion of the Flying V profile. It works great to create a loose, edge-free feel, but takes some getting used to and feels unstable at high speeds or on really hard surfaces - bring your camber board to ride fast on hard pack or extra-firm groomers.

product0.3

2.64.055I have this board since 2013 and I ride mainly in good conditions. I take this board quite often to do backcountry and ride fast in groomed runs. I can confirm what everyone is repBurton Custom Flying V 2010-2018 Snowboard Review